Most people have a list. It grows slowly — a door that doesn't close properly, a shelf that needs fitting, a mirror that's been leaning against the wall for six months waiting to be hung. None of these jobs are big enough to call a specialist contractor, but all of them need doing properly. That's exactly what I'm here for.
I handle all types of general property maintenance and odd jobs across Reading and Berkshire. I bring all the tools I need — drill bits for every substrate, fixings, levels, the lot. If you have a list of small jobs, I'll work through them all in a single visit so you're not paying a call-out charge for each one individually.
Odd Jobs I Handle
- Door hanging, adjustment and draught proofing
- Shelf fitting — wall-mounted, floating and bracket
- Mirror and picture hanging
- Curtain pole and track installation
- Door handle and lock replacement
- Letterbox and door furniture fitting
- Garden maintenance and minor outdoor repairs
- General property maintenance and minor repairs
- Anything that needs a skilled pair of hands
🧱 Block Paving & Garden Brickwork Repair
Driveways and garden paths take a beating — frost, vehicle weight and root movement all cause slabs to rock, sink and crack over time. Rather than a full relay, most paving problems can be fixed with targeted repairs: lifting and re-bedding individual sunken blocks, refreshing the jointing sand or mortar, replacing damaged edging, or repointing deteriorated joints to stop weed growth and water ingress.
Garden brickwork — boundary walls, raised planters, steps and retaining structures — suffers the same weathering. Repointing crumbling mortar joints before they fail completely is far cheaper than rebuilding a wall section. I can also replace individual cracked or blown bricks where frost damage has caused the face to spall off, matching the bond and mortar colour to the existing structure.
⚠️ Paving & Brickwork Repair Tips
- Repoint before it's too late. Once mortar joints erode past about 15mm deep, water gets in, freezes and forces the brickwork apart. Catching it early costs a fraction of a rebuild.
- Don't use ordinary cement for repointing old brickwork. Older bricks need a lime-based mortar. Ordinary Portland cement is too rigid and will crack the brick faces rather than flex with seasonal movement.
- Sunken paving usually means a substrate problem. If slabs keep sinking in the same spot, the sub-base has failed — usually because of poor drainage or tree roots. Re-bedding without fixing the cause just delays the problem.
⚠️ DIY Odd Jobs Tips — The Essentials
- Make sure you have the correct power tool for the job. An underpowered drill struggling through masonry or a drill used where a driver is needed causes poor results and damages fixings.
- Match your drill bit to the screw and plug combination. The bit diameter must match the plug, which must match the screw gauge.
- Buy a wall detector before drilling anywhere. A basic stud and pipe detector costs under £20 and tells you where pipes, cables and joists are before you drill.
Why Choose SKWorks for Odd Jobs?
- ✅ No job too small — I take them all seriously
- ✅ Work through a whole list in one visit
- ✅ All tools supplied — nothing for you to provide
- ✅ 25+ years of property maintenance experience
- ✅ CIS registered and fully insured
- ✅ Free no obligation quote. No call out charge. From £40.
- ✅ 5.0 Google rating from 39 verified Reading customers